Welcome. Before getting into the story, let me explain how this journal is intended to be. This is a TBRP/FBRP (Text Based Role Play/Forum Based Role Play). Essentially, multiple people will be working together, taking turns, to tell one big story.

--------------------------------------------------------------------Please check this thread (http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=90803) to see if there’s room to join before posting! If it is full, other open RPs will be posted or you can suggest your own in this thread as well.--------------------------------------------------------------------

Basic Guidelines and things to keep in mind while posting:

~ No “god-modeing”. You are only allowed to control your own character. This can also be a term used for making your character invincible or all powerful. No one wants to play with a god.

~ Try to make decent lengths posts. Posts of at least a small paragraph should be the minimum. Conversation back and forth or quick combat would be the main exception.

~ Try to use proper spelling, grammar and punctuation. I understand forums are full of different ages and English is not the main language of everyone. The main reason I ask this is simply to make the posts easier to read.

~ Try to keep it real for the world and situation.

~ Any comments that are OOC (out of character) and not part of the story should distinguishable. For ease of reading, please place all OOC comments in double brackets. ((Like this.)) Please keep OOC comments in this thread about this story. If you have general RP questions or comments, please post them in the thread linked above.

~ No “meta gaming”. If you learn something OOC about a character or in their character sheet (ie. Greatest fear/weakness etc.) but your character has not learned this info in game, your character cannot know it.

~ As always, follow the rules of the forum. No swearing, no gore, nothing inappropriate. Keep it rated G.

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Players: Please copy and paste this form in your first post above your intro.

The Great War has been raging in Ellithia for many generations. Living Mortals and Magic alike know only of fighting. Only the most ancient of elders claim to remember a time of peace. However, most of their memories are fogged and many suspect that the stories they tell were actually passed to them and not genuine memories. Even still, many of their tales are the same.

Before the Great War, Ellithia was a beautiful and magical place. The lands were full of creatures born of magic that lived side by side with the mortal races. These creatures, often resembling animals or even the mortals themselves, were highly intelligent. Many mortals would often seek them out for their wisdom. Those that lived near the sea would speak to the merpeople and those that lived near the towering mountains would seek the counsel of the dragons. The mortals would visit the magics so often that in many places they build great chambers where mortals and magics could gather and learn from one another. Even some of the forests and lakes had their own magics and chambers.

After some time mortals would visit the different chambers less and less. As the mortals ceased their visits, the magics kept more to themselves as well. The different chambers fell to ruin one by one. The dragons stayed in their caves. The forest nymphs stayed in their trees. The mortals stayed in their cities.

It started with the dragons. Here the story varies depending on who is asked. The mortals will tell you that the first dragon simply went mad and attacked the city. The magics will say that a band of mortals had crept into her cave and killed her children. The result was the same however. The dragon was brought down and her kind became enraged with the need for vengeance. When the dragons attacked, the mortals walled themselves in their cities. Most of the cities were strong and made of stone that withstood the dragon fire. From behind the stones they were able to cast arrows and javelins at the creatures. As dragon after dragon fell many took their own weight of mortals to the other side with them. The dragons were greatly out numbered to begin with and with each loss their strength began to falter. To save their species, they retreated back to their mountains.

The king of man quickly sent his army to the mountains to finish the job. It was said that the king feared the dragons would recover too quickly and be back at their gates. The king would later be called the Delivering King by the mortals and the Killing King by the magics. The king’s army trapped and killed all but a few dragons in their caves. The rest took to the skies and fled north. The dragons had called on the forest creatures including nymphs and unicorns to help them with their wounded. The king’s army trapped and killed them as well.

When news reached the king that the dragons had been aided by other magics, he declared all magic creatures to be enemies of the crown. What happened next can only be described as horror. Mortals burned entire forests and poured fire into the sea. Minotaurs and gryphons ambushed mortal villages.

After many years and generations, the battles became less frequent. Many races of magics choose to flee rather than fight. Those that stood to fight were eventually broken near to extinction. Victory was near for the mortals. Five kings had ruled since the Great War started. This fifth king of mortals was called the Bull. It was said even his own mother called him bull-headed.

The Bull was planning a victory feast when he was presented a gift from a lone hunter. The gift was a polished box with a long twist of ivory that came to a point at one end. It was a unicorn horn. The hunter informed the king that the unicorns still thrived in the lands at the base of the northern mountains and that there were scores of the creatures. The king was full of rage that these creatures had escaped his family’s wrath. The mortals’ stories had name the unicorns the first betrayers and he would make them pay for that betrayal.

Those that joined the Bull’s army did so to make their homes safe. There was still an enemy out there that was born of magic. They had been taught their entire lives that magics were dangerous, vicious creatures. Many even called them evil. They had to defend their families and lands from such monsters.

When the Bull’s army reached the lands of the unicorns, the unicorns fled towards the sea. The army pursued. The snow white horses with ivory spirals sprouting from their foreheads ran until their way was cut off by both army and sea. On the shore with nowhere to go many of the creatures ran into the sea.

What happened next is again conflicted among storytellers. I’m afraid no one knows for sure. All that is known is that the unicorns that were swallowed by the sea emerged from the waves as different creatures. Their white coats were now the colors of wolves and lions ranging from blacks to browns and golds to reds. Their hooves had been replaced with cat-like paws complete with claws. Their single spiral horns were gone. In their stead, some unicorns had many horns down the center of their muzzles. Others had horns similar to a rams that wrapped around their ears. And still others had great jagged antlers atop their heads. All of their horse hair tails had been replaced with thick, long tails of muscle. Many had various spikes protruding from their muscular bodies, mainly along the spines and on the tails. Some spikes were said to have poison. The last obvious change was their teeth. They were no longer flat grazing teeth but rather the long, sharp canines of a carnivore. How this change happened, no one can agree on. Some unicorns will say that the magic of the sea gave them the means to protect themselves and they were reborn. Other unicorns will simply say that they discovered who they truly were and what they were capable of. Some mortals claim to have seen a wizard change them. Other mortals simply say that unicorns are deceivers and that the sea revealed their true forms. And still others feared that the dragons their ancestors had slain had come back as these unicorns.

How the unicorns changed is far less important in this story than the fact that they did. With their new found strengths and abilities, the unicorns were able to press the Bull’s army back. The Bull sent a second army to join the first. More white unicorns were reborn in the sea and together were able to push the new army back as well. By the time the Bull had sent his next army north, the entirety of the unicorn race had been changed in the sea and the Bull’s army was broken and retreating. When the Bull heard his armies had broken, he sent pleas to the elves and dwarves of the mortal realms. The elves were the first to answer. Together, they were able to send the unicorns running. But soon after, the unicorns had them pulling back as well. It would seem the two sides were equally matched.

Last was heard, the two sides were dead in the middle of what had been renamed the Renewed Wood. The large forest had been mostly burned away near the very beginning of the Great War and has now started growing again. The trees are not thick but when given enough space, can hide movement. It is said that the mortals’ camp is surrounded by the creatures. Others say that they have the unicorns surrounded. Such gossip cannot be trusted. Only those in the heat of it all can give true accounts.

Name: Aeariel TumbaeNickname: Elves call her Kano or Kano Tumbae. Men tend to call her Commander Tumbae or just Commander.Title: Kano (elvish for commander)Race: ElfGender: FemaleAppearance: Hair: Straight and silver hanging to her lower back, usually warn in a single braid down the back with some small and delicate braids going from brow line and wrapping within the main braid.Eyes: Sea blue, varying from a light sky blue to a dark deep blue depending on her mood.Skin: Pale whiteBuild: Slender and lithe with hidden strength. Other: She has some impressive scars, one on her thigh, the other spans from her armpit, across her back and to the back of her neck. Because of the paleness of her skin, they are barely noticeable but sometimes they will itch or hurt or bother her. She wears the blues of her people. Her armor is silver in color and engraved with the three stars of the Trident, the constellation that sailors guide their ships by. Items/Weapons: One elvish longsword, elvish dagger and longbow.Skills/Abilities/Magic: The Sea Elves are known for their archery and seafaring and Aeariel is no exception. Her skills were obvious at a young age surpassing most of her male peers. Her high skills gave her the respect that would ultimately lead to her position of Kano or Commander.Bio/Personality/History: Aeariel’s people live far south on the cliff shores of Triuna. Here, young elves learn to embrace their mother, the sea. Most children learn to swim before they walk. Aeariel’s family lived near the base of the cliffs, closer to the water than most. The Sea Elves social hierarchy is obvious by the location of one’s home. The higher up the cliff you live, the higher your status. For Aeariel to climb the cliff as she grew in body and skill was unheard of for most. When she reached her 17th year, she was leading her own platoon and first mate on one of the higher ranking ships. She reached the rank of Kano and the top of the cliff at 23. Although Aeariel had the skills and drive to climb, her family did not. She loved them dearly but was unable to see them often. Her father was pulled under by merpeople when she was 15. As was custom, her mother took a new husband and started a new family. Aeariel’s younger sister was the only family she had left. It had been over three years since they had been attacked by any merpeople when the request came to send help north to fight these creatures once known as unicorns. The Elders were torn as to their reply and left it in the hands of their highest ranking officer, their Kano. It was Aeariel’s decision to leave the sea and her sister and march north. She brought with her five hundred and 70 lives that would follow her commands to the end. She left less than half that to guard the home she held so dear. Every day she would write to her sister. However with the lack of ravens they could bring meant that she was not able to send them. That didn’t stop her from writing.Greatest Fear & Pleasure: (not required but you must know) Greatest Strength & Weakness: (not required but you must know)

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Wilanna, my dearest sister, you would not believe these creatures. They are like nothing that lives naturally. It is as if a master of art had taken the fiercest creatures they could think of, drew them as one creature and then the painting came to life with hate and evil radiating from it. They show no mercy. So in return, neither do we. I don’t mean to tell you horror stories, but they haunt my mind. I’ve seen some eat the fallen, ours and theirs. They kill not only with tooth and claw, but with poison and fire and magic. I am fairly certain that these monsters have no souls. If they fell into the Sea, our Mother would spit them out they are so foul. I truly pray that we will crush them so they do not find their way to you. I am afraid that

The ink covered quill ceased scratching the surface of the parchment as Aeariel heard her name. A man was outside her tent bickering with one of her guards. “I need to speak with her!” She set the quill down as his voice rose. The guard’s reply was calm and too quiet to hear. “What do you mean ‘She wishes not be disturbed’? We’re in the middle of a war!” The Kano leaned back in her chair and stretched as she prepared to deal with this human officer. She shook her head as she heard the man strike her guard and the guard return with the human words for I can not let you in. She choose to stay seated as she granted the man entrance. He shoved past the guard and nearly ripped the tent flap as he bombarded his way in. His face was red a as he pointed at the guards silhouette on the side of the tent. He yelled at her, “That man!” “Was following my orders sir,” she said cutting him off. She folded her hands on the table after motioning to the chair on the other side. “What can I do for you?” The man ignored the offer of the chair as he said what he had come to say. “Commander Dartonis would like you to join him in is tent in three hours. He wishes to discuss our strategy. I fear our current course of action is not enough.”

She nodded when he finished. “Understood. Please tell the Commander that I will gladly join him in three hours hence. If you’ll please excuse me, I have a letter to finish.” She did not wait for him to leave to pick up the quill again. However, she paused and glanced up as the fabric in the doorway fell back in place. It had become obvious the moment they had arrived that she now had yet another cliff to climb among these human soldiers. Where her ranks included both genders, this other army consisted of only men, no women. It would be a task for her to earn their respect. But those were thoughts for another time. Her quill picked up where it had left off. I am afraid that they might win.